Forty operating numbers with target ranges for quick service, full service, bar-led and fine dining, side by side, with a quick check of your own numbers against the range.
By Rob Bruni, founder of OpsEdge Hospitality, twenty years running restaurants, bars, clubs and resorts. Reviewed November 2026.
Forty operating benchmarks for restaurants, bars and clubs, side by side by concept. Filter by category, search for a line, sort any concept column, and run your own numbers against the range at the bottom of the page. Every row links to the guide that explains how to move it.
Swipe the table sideways to see every concept. The metric column stays put.
| Metric ▲▼ | Quick service / fast casual ▲▼ | Full service ▲▼ | Bar or beverage-led ▲▼ | Fine dining / club ▲▼ | What moves it | Read more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost structure | ||||||
| Prime costFood, beverage and labor together, as a percent of total sales. The one number that says whether the operation can make money. | 55 to 60% | 60 to 65% | 50 to 55% | 62 to 68% | Above 70% there is no room for occupancy and profit. | Prime cost guide → |
| Food cost (of food sales)Cost of food sold divided by food sales. Pricing, portions, waste and purchasing all show up here. | 28 to 32% | 28 to 34% | 28 to 34% | 30 to 36% | Pizza runs 20 to 28%, steakhouses 35 to 40%. | Food cost guide → |
| Beverage cost (of beverage sales)Cost of beverage sold divided by beverage sales, blended across liquor, beer and wine. | 18 to 24% | 18 to 24% | 18 to 22% | 22 to 28% | A wine-heavy list runs higher; a cocktail-led bar lower. | Pour cost guide → |
| Labor, fully loadedHourly wages, salaries, payroll taxes, benefits and workers' comp, as a percent of sales. | 25 to 30% | 30 to 35% | 25 to 30% | 33 to 38% | Leaving out burden or salaried managers flatters the number by 5 to 8 points. | Labor cost guide → |
| Management salaries (of sales)Salaried GM, managers and chef as a share of sales. A structure test more than a scheduling test. | 6 to 9% | 8 to 12% | 7 to 10% | 10 to 14% | Over 12% in full service means sales are too low for the structure. | Labor cost guide → |
| Payroll burden (of wages)Payroll taxes, workers' comp, benefits and paid time off on top of wages. | 18 to 22% | 18 to 22% | 18 to 22% | 20 to 25% | Overtime carries burden at 1.5x. Check workers' comp class codes. | Labor cost guide → |
| Controllable expensesSupplies, repairs, marketing, utilities, card fees, linen, music and software. | 8 to 12% | 8 to 12% | 8 to 12% | 9 to 13% | Watch the small lines monthly; they creep. | P&L guide → |
| Occupancy (rent, taxes, insurance)Rent, CAM, property tax and insurance as a percent of sales. | 6 to 10% | 6 to 10% | 6 to 10% | 6 to 10% | Above 10% is very hard to outrun with cost control alone. | P&L guide → |
| Controllable profitWhat is left after prime cost and controllables, before occupancy. | 20 to 28% | 18 to 25% | 25 to 32% | 15 to 22% | The line a manager is accountable for. | P&L guide → |
| Net operating profitWhat the owner keeps before debt service and taxes. | 8 to 15% | 5 to 12% | 10 to 18% | 5 to 10% | Independent full service averages are at the low end of the range. | P&L guide → |
| MarketingAdvertising, social, loyalty, agency and promotion, as a percent of sales. | 2 to 4% | 2 to 4% | 2 to 4% | 1 to 3% | New openings run 5 to 8% for the first six months. | Startup costs guide → |
| Card processing feesInterchange and processor fees on card sales. | 2.5 to 3.5% | 2.5 to 3.5% | 2.5 to 3.5% | 2.5 to 3.5% | Audit the effective rate twice a year; it drifts. | P&L guide → |
| Bar and beverage | ||||||
| Liquor pour costCost of spirits sold divided by spirit sales. | 15 to 20% | 15 to 20% | 15 to 20% | 17 to 22% | Highest margin on the bar, and the easiest to lose through over-pouring. | Pour cost guide → |
| Draft beer pour costCost of draft sold divided by draft sales, after keg yield. | 18 to 24% | 18 to 24% | 18 to 24% | 20 to 26% | Foam and line waste push it up fast. | Pour cost guide → |
| Bottled and canned beer costLittle waste, little margin. | 22 to 28% | 22 to 28% | 22 to 28% | 24 to 30% | Price for dollar margin, not percent. | Pour cost guide → |
| Wine by the glass costFive pours from a 750 at a fair price. | 25 to 35% | 25 to 35% | 25 to 35% | 28 to 38% | Spoilage is the risk; track open bottles. | Pour cost guide → |
| Wine by the bottle costLower percent margin, higher dollar margin per sale. | 30 to 45% | 30 to 45% | 30 to 45% | 32 to 48% | Price the list so the second-cheapest bottle still makes money. | Pour cost guide → |
| Bar variance (actual vs theoretical)The gap between what the POS says you poured and what the count says you used. | Within 1 to 2 pts | Within 1 to 2 pts | Within 1 to 2 pts | Within 1 to 2 pts | Three points or more means over-pouring, giveaways or theft. | Bar inventory guide → |
| Draft keg yieldSellable ounces as a share of the keg. | 90 to 95% | 90 to 95% | 92 to 96% | 90 to 95% | Clean lines, right temperature, trained pourers. | Bar inventory guide → |
| Beverage share of salesBeverage sales as a share of total sales. | 10 to 20% | 20 to 30% | 55 to 75% | 30 to 40% | Higher beverage mix lowers prime cost for the same labor. | Menu engineering guide → |
| Productivity and capacity | ||||||
| Sales per labor hour (SPLH)Net sales divided by hourly hours worked. The best single productivity number. | $50 to $90 | $45 to $75 | $60 to $110 | $40 to $65 | Track by daypart; the average hides the problem shift. | Labor cost calculator → |
| Labor hours per 100 coversHourly hours worked per hundred guests served. | 25 to 40 | 45 to 60 | 35 to 50 | 60 to 90 | Rises on slow nights when the minimum crew is still on. | Scheduling guide → |
| Table turns, dinnerHow many times each table seats a new party in the dinner period. | n/a | 1.5 to 2.5 | n/a | 1.0 to 1.5 | Turns times average check times seats is your dinner capacity. | Break-even guide → |
| Average check per coverFood and beverage sales divided by guests. | $10 to $18 | $25 to $45 | $18 to $35 | $75 to $150+ | Beverage attachment and dessert move it faster than price increases. | Menu engineering guide → |
| Sales per seat per yearAnnual sales divided by seats. A capacity and pricing test. | $6k to $15k | $10k to $25k | $12k to $30k | $25k to $50k | Wide variance by market. Trend matters more than the number. | Break-even guide → |
| Sales per square foot per yearAnnual sales divided by total square feet. | $300 to $600 | $250 to $450 | $300 to $600 | $400 to $750 | Below $150 is a warning sign in any concept. | Startup costs guide → |
| Food inventory on handDays of food inventory at current usage. | 3 to 5 days | 5 to 7 days | 5 to 7 days | 6 to 9 days | More than ten days means cash on shelves and waste coming. | Inventory guide → |
| Bar inventory on handDays of liquor, beer and wine at current usage. | 15 to 25 days | 20 to 35 days | 25 to 40 days | 30 to 50 days | Wine programs run longer; spirits should turn monthly. | Bar inventory guide → |
| Food inventory turns per monthHow many times food inventory is used and replaced in a month. | 6 to 8 | 4 to 6 | 4 to 6 | 3 to 5 | Weekly counts make this visible; monthly counts hide it. | Inventory guide → |
| Menu and guests | ||||||
| Menu size (total items)Total food items on the core menu. | 15 to 30 | 25 to 45 | 15 to 30 | 15 to 25 | Every item past forty adds waste, training time and ticket times. | Menu engineering guide → |
| Stars as a share of itemsItems that are both high margin and high popularity after a menu engineering pass. | 25 to 35% | 25 to 35% | 25 to 35% | 30 to 40% | Fewer than a quarter means the menu is carrying dead weight. | Menu engineering guide → |
| Comps and voids (of sales)Discounts, comps and voids as a percent of gross sales. | Under 1.5% | Under 2% | Under 2.5% | Under 2% | Above the range needs a reason on the manager log every night. | Manager log guide → |
| Tables per server, dinnerSection size at full staffing. | n/a | 4 to 6 | n/a | 3 to 4 | Bar-led concepts measure seats per bartender: 10 to 15. | Scheduling guide → |
| Hourly staff turnover (annual)Hourly separations divided by average headcount. | 100 to 150% | 70 to 100% | 70 to 100% | 50 to 80% | Every departure costs roughly $2,000 to $5,000 to replace and train. | Checklists guide → |
| Break-even and capital | ||||||
| Contribution margin100 minus variable costs (food, beverage, hourly labor, card fees) as a percent of sales. | 40 to 48% | 38 to 45% | 45 to 55% | 35 to 42% | Four points of margin moves break-even by more than $10,000 a month at $43,000 fixed. | Break-even calculator → |
| Break-even days per monthDays of the month that pay the bills before profit starts. | 18 to 22 | 20 to 24 | 18 to 22 | 21 to 25 | Over 26 operating days, anything past 24 is a thin business. | Break-even guide → |
| Startup cost per seatAll-in opening cost divided by seats, second-generation space. | $3,000 to $8,000 | $5,000 to $9,000 | $3,000 to $7,000 | $10,000 to $20,000 | First-generation (vanilla shell) space runs $9,000 to $15,000+ per seat in any concept. | Startup costs guide → |
| Construction contingencyReserve on the construction budget for the surprises behind the walls. | 15 to 20% | 15 to 20% | 15 to 20% | 15 to 20% | Older buildings and first-generation space sit at the top of the range. | Startup costs guide → |
| Working capital reserveCash on hand at opening, measured in months of fixed costs. | 3 to 4 months | 4 to 6 months | 3 to 5 months | 6 to 9 months | Most closures in year one are cash, not concept. | Startup costs guide → |
| Occupancy cost per seat per yearAnnual rent, taxes and insurance divided by seats. | $600 to $1,500 | $1,000 to $2,500 | $1,200 to $3,000 | $2,500 to $5,000 | Cross-check against sales per seat: occupancy should stay under 10% of it. | P&L guide → |
Percentages are of total sales unless the metric says otherwise. "n/a" means the measure does not apply to that concept. Ranges, not targets: see the FAQ for how to use them.
Enter what you have. Each line comes back green, amber or red against the range for your concept, with a link to the guide or calculator for the ones that need work.
Pick the column that matches your concept, not the one with the best numbers. A 58 percent prime cost is excellent in full service and a warning sign in a bar-led concept where beverage should be carrying more of the mix.
Compare like with like. Food cost here is a percent of food sales, beverage of beverage sales, labor fully loaded with taxes and benefits. If your P&L calculates differently, convert before comparing. The P&L guide shows the standard layout.
Watch the trend, not the week. Eight weeks of your own numbers on the weekly prime cost check tell you more than any benchmark. The range tells you whether the trend is heading somewhere good.
Move one line at a time. Prime cost first, because it is two thirds of every dollar. Then the line furthest outside its range. The calculators turn each gap into dollars so you can pick the one worth the most.
Quick service and fast casual: labor hours on the slow shoulders and waste from over-production. SPLH by daypart is the number to post.
Full service: kitchen labor and protein cost. A two-point move on food cost through portion control and a two-point move on BOH hours is usually worth more than any price increase.
Bar and beverage-led: variance. The gap between theoretical and actual pour cost is where the money goes, and a weekly count against POS sales finds it. See the bar inventory guide.
Fine dining and clubs: salaried structure and inventory on hand. High-end programs carry more management, more culinary salary and far more inventory, and all three need to be sized to real sales, not the sales the business was designed for.
Most full service restaurants aim for 60 to 65 percent of sales, quick service 55 to 60, bar-led concepts 50 to 55, and fine dining and clubs 62 to 68 because of service levels and ingredient quality. Above 70 percent there is usually no room left for occupancy and profit.
Ranges. They are the bands where well run independent operations in each concept tend to land, built from twenty years of running restaurants, bars, clubs and resorts and cross-checked against the published industry surveys. Your target should sit inside the range for your concept, and the trend over the last eight weeks matters more than where you sit on any single week.
Beverage carries a lower cost percent than food (18 to 24 percent against 28 to 34) and usually less labor per dollar of sales. The more of the mix that is beverage, the lower the blended prime cost at the same labor level.
Weekly for prime cost, food, beverage and labor, which is what the manager log and the weekly prime cost check are for. Monthly for the P&L lines (controllables, occupancy, profit). Annually for capacity and capital numbers like sales per seat and occupancy per seat.
Operating experience across quick service, full service, bar-led, club and resort operations, cross-checked against the National Restaurant Association, industry benchmark surveys and operator peer groups. Ranges are rounded and reviewed each year; the last review was November 2026.
The free calculators show the gap between your number and the range in dollars a year: prime cost, food cost, labor cost, break-even and pour cost. No signup.
Open the free calculators Read the guides Restaurant glossaryBenchmarks are rules of thumb from operating experience and published industry surveys, rounded and reviewed annually. They are not targets for any specific business and are not financial advice.
